Region | Lebanon
Syria urged to build ties with Lebanon
Stressing support for Lebanese independence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday urged Syria to establish diplomatic ties with its neighbour, demarcate their joint frontier and work to end smuggling of weapons.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 April 3, 2007
- Image Credit: EPA
- Merkel and Siniora review the honour guard at the Lebanese government palace in Beirut yesterday.
Beirut: Stressing support for Lebanese independence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday urged Syria to establish diplomatic ties with its neighbour, demarcate their joint frontier and work to end smuggling of weapons.
Merkel also said Germany will do all it can to help in the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Leb-anese prime minister Rafik Hariri, calling on Syria to cooperate with the UN investigation into the 2005 truck bombing that killed the leader.
"Our view is that Syria, too, must play its role so that Lebanon will develop as an independent state," she told a news conference with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, speaking in German.
Merkel has made the Middle East a top priority of her six-month presidency of the European Union and is currently on a tour of the region. She flew to Lebanon from Israel yesterday for talks with Leb-anese leaders and to visit a German navy ship in Beirut Harbour.
Germany is leading the naval task force - comprising some 1,700 members - that is monitoring Lebanese waters to prevent smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah.
Monitoring border
The force is part of a UN cease-fire resolution that ended a month of fighting between the Lebanese fighters and Israel last summer.
Berlin is also offering technical assistance to Lebanese border and customs officers to monitor the border with Syria. During her visit, Merkel met with Siniora and with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is a leading member of the Hezbollah-led opposition seeking to unseat the prime minister.
Siniora expressed appreciation for German participation in the naval task force of the UN peacekeeping mission, now numbering a total of about 13,000. "We thank you very much, Chancellor Merkel, for taking the leadership in that force," he said.
Relations between Lebanon and Syria have deteriorated since the Syrian army was forced to withdraw from Lebanon in 2005 in the wake of Hariri's assassination and a government dominated by anti-Syrians took power in Beirut.
Many in Lebanon blame Hariri's killing on Damascus, which has denied involvement.
Discovering truth
Merkel said the Hariri tribunal must be established because the credibility of the United Nations was at stake.
"We want to discover the truth ... we will do all we can to set up this court," she said. "It is important for the stability of Lebanon that this tribunal begins soon its work."
The tribunal has yet to be ratified by Parliament because of opposition from pro-Syrian politicians.
The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon has accused Syria of attempting to undermine Lebanese independence and sovereignty through its allies in the opposition.
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